"Have an idea? What kind of idea?"
Yahiko and Konan grew solemn, and even Nagato fell into deep thought.
The Akatsuki's most precious possession was Nagato's Rinnegan. Ryou should currently be by Madara's side, plotting with him to make the world feel pain.
Instead of coming to the Land of Rain to join the Akatsuki and play house.
Could it be that Nagato's Rinnegan has been targeted by Madara?
Minato spoke directly: "The Great Toad Sage of Mount Myōboku said that Uchiha Madara possesses the Six Paths Power, and the Six Paths Power is the power of the Sage of Six Paths."
"Nagato, it is highly likely that your Rinnegan was transplanted into you by Uchiha Madara when you were a child."
Nagato stood frozen on the spot. My Rinnegan belongs to Madara?
Yahiko shouted at Minato, "Impossible!"
"How could an evil person like Uchiha Madara have the eyes of the Sage of Six Paths?"
"Nagato is the reincarnation of the Sage of Six Paths, the hope bestowed by heaven upon the Land of Rain to quell the chaos of war."
The members of the Akatsuki rushed over together. They were all somewhat bewildered; what exactly had happened?
Why were there such severe traces of battle behind the cave?
One of the Akatsuki members shouted, "Lord Yakuganra is dead!"
"What?!"
"Impossible! Lord Yakuganra is a natural-born saint; he couldn't possibly die so easily!"
Ryou's spore clone turned into Ryou's corpse and quietly emerged from the ground, appearing right in front of Minato.
Minato: "..."
Ryou's spore clone, hidden among the Akatsuki, pointed at Minato and roared, "It's him! It's this yellow-haired guy! He's the murderer who killed Ryou-sama!"
"I recognize this man. He's Konoha's Yellow Flash. Because he loves 'bedroom' activities so much that he used up all of Konoha's condoms he's called the Yellow Flash Latex."
"Damned Konoha Ninja! To think you killed Lord Yakuganra, cutting off the hope of the Land of Rain and tearing down the bridge to peace!"
"Woe is me! Lord Yakuganra is dead. I have no heart to listen to your explanations of right and wrong."
The members of the Akatsuki were collectively enraged. Everyone had seen Ryou's actions over the past few days.
Even in the dead of night, he disregarded his own health to treat the sick. How could such a good man be killed by a foreign Ninja just like that?
"Is there no king's law? Is there no justice?"
Daibutsu, Kyosuke, and Kie—the veteran members of the Akatsuki who registered new recruits—were filled with confusion.
Are these people shouting the loudest even members of the Akatsuki?
Too many people had joined the Akatsuki these past few days, and they all wore the same clothes; it was impossible to recognize them all.
This is bad. Is Ryou's scheme to make them fight Minato?
Yahiko immediately felt something was wrong and stepped forward to defuse the atmosphere: "Everyone, calm down, calm down! Yakuganra—"
"Calm down your mother's head!"
An the Akatsuki member with a rather generic face rushed out, holding a Kunai in his hand.
"Minato! I was once a rogue ninja from Konoha. It's all because you stole my Little Habanero that I was forced to defect!"
"I've practiced Ninjutsu bitterly for all these years just to seek revenge on you. Yellow-hair, give me your life!"
Minato took out a Kunai, but the man fell before he even got close to Minato. The Kunai in his hand was plunged into his own chest.
With a face full of resentment, he pointed at Minato: "...Such speed... as expected of Konoha's Yellow Flash."
"Minato, you stole my Little Habanero. Even as a ghost, I won't let you go—"
As his voice faded, the man breathed his last, dying right next to Yakuganra's corpse.
"(￣ー￣〃)."
Minato looked at the Kunai in his hand, then at the corpse lying before him.
Is this a frame-up? Is he trying to extort me?
In the eyes of the distant the Akatsuki members, it looked like Minato had killed one of their own. A wave of indignation immediately erupted.
"Murderer! Murderer!"
"Look at this, everyone! This is the Ninja of a Great Nation, treating the Ninjas of small nations as nothing."
"He just killed our Lord Yakuganra, and now he's killed another member of the Akatsuki. He clearly has no regard for the lives of us small-nation Ninjas."
"What else is there to say? Brothers, let's go together and hack this yellow-haired guy to death!"
"Don't be afraid! There are so many of us. Minato can't possibly kill us all before his Chakra runs out!"
Led by several generic-faced Ninjas, the Akatsuki members charged toward Minato.
Yahiko quickly blocked the way in front of Minato: "Calm down! Everyone, calm down! This is all Uchiha Ryou's trap! Don't be fooled!"
An the Akatsuki member roared: "Yahiko, you traitor! Without Lord Yakuganra, would the Akatsuki even be here today?"
"Yeah, Yahiko, you despicable coward! You must have colluded with the Konoha Ninja to kill Lord Yakuganra!"
"Brothers, the Orange Hair isn't a good person either! Let's take care of him too!"
Except for the veteran members, almost all the new recruits of the Akatsuki were indebted to Ryou. They had joined after hearing of Ryou's brilliant Medical Ninjutsu.
Some had never even seen Yahiko's face and felt that this Orange Hair only knew how to talk big.
Orange Hair, Red Hair, and Blue Hair should not stand; the one who should stand is Lord Yakuganra!
Never mind that Ryou was 'dead'. Even if he weren't, if he raised his arm and called out now, the new members of the Akatsuki would follow him to hack anyone down.
This was reputation!
Hundreds of the Akatsuki members surged forward, rogue ninjas, defectors, and street thugs.
To be honest, Minato didn't even need the Flying Thunder God.
With his Body Flicker technique that far surpassed a Jonin's, combined with insight comparable to a three tomoe Sharingan, he could kill his way through the Akatsuki in a single pass.
But Minato was not one to slaughter the innocent, nor was he someone who would act without reason.
He respected life. These people were innocents coerced by Ryou. Minato could not bring himself to involve them.
As things stood, his only choice was to take Nagato away.
With a Body Flicker, Minato flashed to Nagato's side. Before Nagato could react, Minato was about to grab his shoulder.
"Nagato, sorry. Come with me first. I'll explain everything later."
In a flash, Ryou's hands emerged from the ground beneath Minato, crackling with the sound of lightning.
"Chidori!"
Minato quickly flipped his body, dodging Ryou's Lightning Release.
Nagato also seized the opportunity and unleashed Shinra Tensei on Minato.
Shinra Tensei required no hand seals. It was Minato's first time encountering it, and before he could react, the massive repulsive force sent him crashing dozens of meters away.
Minato only stopped after knocking over several the Akatsuki members who were acting like mindless machines.
He stood up, wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, and looked solemnly at Nagato, who had revealed his Rinnegan.
"So this is the Rinnegan? Truly worthy of being the eyes of the Sage of Six Paths."
Yahiko and Konan quickly stepped in front of Nagato.
Yahiko questioned: "Minato, so your goal really is the Rinnegan."
Minato explained: "Nagato, you are in great danger. Uchiha Madara has been resurrected."
"Even if your eyes aren't his, he will find a way to seize the Rinnegan. Only by going to Konoha can you and your eyes be protected."
An the Akatsuki member snorted: "Bah! Minato, stop your lies! You Konoha people just want to seize Nagato's Rinnegan for yourselves."
"Stop wasting words with him. Lord Yakuganra's body is still warm. Let's kill him quickly to avenge Lord Yakuganra!"
"Charge!"
Minato watched the swarming members of the Akatsuki.
These people didn't pose much of a threat. What Minato feared was Ryou hiding underground and the Ryou clones hidden among the crowd.
Nagato's Rinnegan was also not easy to deal with.
Moreover, Minato had Kurenai as a liability.
Ryou's figure appeared beside Kurenai and grabbed her leg.
"Kurenai, come back with me and have my children!"
"Minato-senpai, save me!"
Minato activated the Flying Thunder God to appear beside Kurenai, condensing a Rasengan and slamming it toward Ryou's hand.
Ryou quickly withdrew his hand and vanished into the earth.
He hadn't expected Minato to have left a Flying Thunder God formula on Kurenai. Now, Ryou couldn't take her away.
"Ryou, no matter what schemes you have, I will stop you."
"Minato, we'll see about that."
Minato used the Flying Thunder God Technique to leave the Akatsuki.
Ryou also sank into the ground.
Quiet returned to the Akatsuki.